Help, possible sacking just before SMP kicks in!!!!!!!!

My sis is an reflexologist/masseur and is 27 weeks pg, she does just enough hours to get SMP.

She has heard on the quiet that the company she works for is being sold and that within the next 2 weeks they can expect to get P45's but the majority of the staff will be being kept on. One of the girls found this out by accident and has told my sis but said to keep her mouth shut as she'll get into trouble.

She is due to leave in 2 weeks.

What will happen if she is effectively sacked before then?

Will she get SMP? She is V worried. She's not online so I'm asking for her, please help!!

If the company is being sold then she will have exactly the same rights as before, she still works for the same employer (the company).If the trade is being sold then she retains her rights under the TUPE regulations.

The quick way round this may be to go to her doctor and get a sick line for a couple of weeks to take up to when her maternity leave would kick in. It would be worth googling maternity rights. The other questions are how long has she been with the company as that will affect her entitlement to maternity pay.

I always thought everyone got SMP. Anything else was dependent on the company and the period of time employed.

The TUPE thing means terms and conditions are protected for 2 years after date of sale. In certain conditions, the company can be sold without TUPE. I know ours was as there was a deficit in the pension fund which the new owners agreed to top up.Your sis should give CAB a wee call tomorrow and chat through things with them.

unless TUPE doesn't hold (and I don't see how it couldn't if the company was sold rather than the trade?? - the company is a separate legal entity and is the employer) then they would have to follow the same procedures to lay people off as before the sale. And tbh (imo) no employer in their right mind would sack someone who was pg over someone who wasn't - the fall out is just not worth it.

Can only be very very quick but even if your sister ends up being made redundant she will still get her SMP. SMP applies as long as you are employed 15 weeks before you are due, so 25 weeks pregnant. If you leave employment after that for any reason, you are still entitled to SMP, even though the earliest SMP can start is 11 weeks before due date.

Sorry for rush will come back tomorrow and read properly about TUPE stuff but I think that's the most important question answered

Sorry Lady Muck, just saw that you posted she has worked for them for 5 years but took time off for her dd born July 07. She went straight back after ML but only 2 days a week, so thats 16 hours I think. Will that make a difference?

Got to go to bed, so tired....will check again in morning. Thanks again everyone, feel better with the hope that she might not get shafted. They have been so bloody awful to her this year.

Have a read here about redundancy. If the company know what they are doing they will be extremely cautious before making your sister redundant and make sure there is no way she could possibly claim it had anything to do with her pregnancy. Of course that doesn't mean she won't be made redundant.

As I said last night, in any case it will not affect her entitlement to SMP in the slightest, she has already 'earned' that, so regardless of whether her employment is terminated, they still have to pay it.

If it's all just rumour at the moment I'd probably hold off on going down to the CAB at the moment, without any more proper information they won't be able to provide much tangible help.

When she actually finds out what's going on, and whether or not her job is affected, then will be the time to take some advice if she feels she wants/needs to.